Graham cites ‘strong consensus’ to protect Kurds as Syrian forces move in

Senator Lindsey Graham (R.S.C.) and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued dire warnings about the urgent need to protect the Syrian Kurdish population, which is in danger of being attacked by government forces in the war-torn country.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara earlier this month ordered his army, which reportedly has a large jihadist element, to seize areas controlled by the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) for more than a decade.

Writing on social media platform

Pompeo He responded to Graham’s post by saying, “Turning our backs on our Kurdish allies would be a moral and strategic disaster.”

USA’S ADDICTION TO IRAQ’S PRISONERS IS CAUSING CHAOS IN SYRIA AND FEARS ABOUT THE OPENING OF ISIS’ PRISONS

The Trump administration is facing criticism from Syrian Kurds, a long-time ally who played a key role in defeating the Islamic State in the heart of the Middle East, following an announcement on social media by the US government implying the end of its partnership with the Kurdish-controlled SDF in northern Syria last week.

The SDF was established in 2013 as a bulwark against the rapid spread of the Islamic State terrorist movement. ISIS had established a caliphate covering significant territory in Syria and Iraq. Al-Sharaa was a former member of the Islamic State and Al Qaeda.

Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department to respond to U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who also serves as special envoy for Syria, on X’s recent statement that the U.S. partnership with the SDF has ended.

Barrack wrote: “The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) proved to be the most effective ground partner in defeating ISIS’s regional caliphate, detaining thousands of ISIS fighters and family members in prisons and camps like al-Hol and al-Shaddadi by 2019. At the time, there was no functioning central Syrian state to work with; the Assad regime was weakened, controversial, and not a viable partner against ISIS due to their alliances with the Assad regime, Iran, and Russia.”

“Today, the situation has changed fundamentally. Syria now has a recognized central government, which has joined the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS (as the 90th member in late 2025), signaling a westward orientation and cooperation with the United States on counterterrorism.”

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters pose for a photo with the American flag on stage after the SDF victory ceremony announcing the defeat of ISIS in Baghouz at the Omar Oil Field in Baghouz, Syria, on March 23, 2019. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Türkiye SAYS SYRIA’S USE OF FORCE IS AN OPTION AGAINST US-SUPPORTED FIGHTERS WHO HELPED DEFEAT ISIS

Iham Ahmed, a prominent Syrian Kurdish politician, told Fox News Digital: “We really wanted to see a firm position from the United States. The Kurdish people are in danger of being destroyed. The United States is not giving any concrete or concrete guarantees.”

Ahmed was skeptical of Barrack’s similar statements and warned, “The Syrian army still consists of radical groups that no one can trust. Alawites, Christians, Sunnis and Druze cannot trust these groups. We may face the massacres in other cities of Syria.”

Asked by Fox News Digital whether the SDF wants Israel to intervene to help the Kurds, as it helped Syrian Druze and other minorities last year, Ahmed said: “Whoever wants to help us should do it. Today is the day.” “ISIS presents itself as an official army. Now everyone is under threat,” he said.

He called for a “special status for the Kurdish region” in northeastern Syria.

Syrian government forces load rockets to be launched towards Kurdish forces near Dibsi Faraj in the Tabqa district of Raqqa province in northern Syria, January 17, 2026. (Omar Haj Kadour/AFP via Getty Images.)

Ahmed accused the Erdogan government of treacherous intervention.

“Türkiye stands behind the attacks on our region. Turkish intelligence and small groups lead the attacks. Statements from Türkiye encourage the destruction of our people,” he claimed.

Fox News Digital sent a press question to a spokesperson for the Turkish embassy in Washington, D.C.

DOUBLE WARNING IS PUBLISHED AFTER ISRAEL’S OFFICIAL SYRIAN MILITARY WAR HYMNS ARE COLD

Tony Perkins, the influential chairman of the Family Research Council, wrote of

“But this is happening as Syrian leader Ahmed al-Shara’s forces advance into northeastern Syria, displacing the Syrian Democratic Forces, our partners in the fight against ISIS, who have lost thousands of fighters, protected US bases, and detained ISIS prisoners.

“Before we trust Al Shara, the former al-Qaeda rebel who fought US forces in Iraq and is being held at Abu Ghraib, he needs to show that he is trustworthy. So far, he fails the test.”

A masked Islamic State terrorist poses while holding an ISIS flag in 2015. (Images from History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Sinam Mohammed, the US representative of the Syrian Democratic Council, had harsh words for the administration in a statement to Fox News Digital: “American officials continue to portray the SDF as a reliable partner in this narrow mission. Washington avoids framing the relationship as a political alliance. The US never envisioned a long-term political commitment to the Syrian Kurds. This was a military partnership without political guarantees. To Washington, this is consistency. To the Kurds, this is treason.”

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION

He added that it was announced that the ceasefire would be extended for 15 days.

“However, both the SDF and external observers noted that [Syrian] The buildup of government troops near Kurdish-controlled areas signals that clashes may continue. Kurds want peace and stability to be achieved through negotiations.”